Forgiveness
by Flit Flutterby
Summary: Vigilante forgives Shayera for what happend during the Thanagarian war. Post Hunter's Moon.


A/N So got this idea after watching Hunters Moon, so it takes place almost immediately after that. Hopefully you all enjoy.

I don't own any of the character and I promise to put them back when I'm done. -Flit-

Vigilante laid in the med bay at the watchtower feeling rather bored and well, more than a little defeated after his last mission. This wasn't the first time he'd ever been injured during a mission, and it probably wouldn't be his last. In his line of work cuts and bruises were part of the norm. It's not like this particular injury was life threatening of even very severe. It did hurt like the dickens, but he'd live to fight another day.

He had been chosen but J'onn for the mission because it was suppose to a simple support mission. Shayera, Vixen, and Vigilante were sent to help the stranded aliens to get home, and on the way Vigilante could complete some of his space flight training. The stranded aliens turned out to be a rouge group of Thanagarians, bent on revenge against Shayera, and anyone who happened to be with her. The Thanagarians fired on the team almost immediately, and Vigilante got hit in the ankle during cross fire.

He knew he's been shot, pain from the injury told him so during every step. But he wasn't one to complain. Besides the full extent of the injury didn't hit until the team was finally able to escape and fly back to the watchtower. It was then that he realized he was actually bleeding and fairly severely at that. Shayera did all she could to keep him alert on the flight back but he still started going into shock. He was only human after all. When he finally got to med bay and the doctors cut off his boot, much to his chagrin, almost two pints of blood spilled out. No wonder it felt like I was walking through a swamp, Vigilante thought to him self. The doctors managed to patch him back up and gave him some medication for the pain. Despite all of his protest, the doctors forced him to stay in med bay for the night. Just as a precaution.

A couple of justice league members stopped to visit. Vixen dropped in to talk for a little while before he date with John, and Sir Justin brought him a deck of card to help subdue his boredom. Still sitting in med bay injured vigilante couldn't help but think that maybe he just wasn't super enough for the justice league. He didn't have a magical sword like Sir Justin, or super animal senses like Vixen, or even wings like Shayera. All of his skills were self taught, perfected by years of practice. Lot of good that did me today, he though to himself, if it wasn't for the little ladies... I may have been bird food. Vigilante was an excellent marksman. One of the best even. He was a hero in every sense of the word. No one could deny that. But maybe just maybe he wasn't super enough for the Justice league. Vigilante sighed as the pain medication started to ware off and a dull ach returned to his leg. Because of the his injury, the league placed him on the inactive list until the end of the week. A full week of boredom.

Vigilante started to shuffle to card to play a game a solitare until he heard a knock on the door. He bridged the card through his hand. "Come on in," he called. A red head poked its way through as Shayera made her way in.

"Hey cowboy, mind if I join you for a moment?" She asked tentatively. He paused for a moment pondering the proposition.

"I reckon I could use the company darlin'." Shayera smiled.

"How are you doing?"

"I've seen better days, but I'm a okay."

"Well I just came by to tell you good work back there. By stealing the Thanagarin ship, you saved us all."

"I appreciate that, but if it wasn't for me holding you up in the first place you probably would have gotten out of there much quicker. Then getting injured on ya." Shayera's eyes soften and she pulled a chair up by Vigilante's bedside.

"Vig, you are one of the few people in the universe to have taken a hit from a Thanagarin energy pulse blast and live to tell about it. Let alone walk away from it without even flinching. Don't you remember how worried I was? I've never seen anyone still standing after being hit?" Vigilante looked away

"It wasn't like it was the first time." He replied in a voice barely above a whisper. Shayera opened and closed her mouth a few times before looking down. Neither one spoke for a few moments.

"Look I should probably apologize for whatever happened during the war. I..."

"Pardon my interruption darlin', but you don't have to have to explain your self. I understand you were put into a difficult situation. 'Sides after what happened back there with them hawk people on our mission, the least I can do is forgive you. If the league let you back in I should never have questioned your allegiance." Shayera offered him a small, grateful smile, but she still couldn't shake her curiosity of what happened during the Thanagarin war.

"What did they do to you?" Vigilante's face darkened and he turned his back to her.

"You don't wanna know, and I don't feel much like tellin' ya about it," he replied defiantly. Shayera hung her head in guilt.

"I'm so sorry, I really am."

"It's no longer your apology to give little lady. I already told you that I forgive you, but if I never see another hawk person again, you excluded, I think I'd be a happy man. Now if you'll beg my pardon I'm feelin' awfully tired." Shayera nodded and headed for the door before turning back around.

"You really did save Mari and I today. I know you don't think you did good today, but your a super hero Greg, and even on bad days we still save people's lives." She was about to head out the door when Vigilante turned back around.

"Wait Miss Shayera." He called after her. She turned back to him and there was something in his tone that told her to sit back down. "Do you really want to know about all the crimes your people committed during the Thanagarin war?"

"Which ones?" She kind of laughed in a self effecting tone.

"Yes or no" She hesitated.

"Yes..." her reply was cautious. Vigilante looked long and hard at her before pulling back the sheets to reveal a jagged and disfiguring scare that ran down his thigh. Shayera gasped as tears started to glisten in her eyes.

"No don't be interrupting me during my story. I'm only telling it once and from here on out I don't wanna hear you speaking of it to anyone."

"Right."

"As you might know, once the Thanagarians placed Earth under martial law, they started rounding up every super hero they could find. Most of them were stirring up trouble and all, creating resistance groups, and it was just easier for them hawk people to prevent them from causin' much trouble in the first place. Just like you did with the original justice league at the time."

He paused briefly as his ankle started to ach again and he rubbed it gently. Shayera was stuck speechless, hanging on his every word. "Well one of those prison ships stationed itself right close to my home range out west. I wasn't quite sure what to do at first and days passed as I watched the hawk people round up and hold many super heroes. After rounding up a group of resistance militia, we worked on a plan to break some of the heroes out. After a brief reconnaissance, our group was able to make our first break in, we freed Vibe, and Crimson Fox. With the help of their powers we were able to then free Fire and Ice. Our resistance group got stronger but we also lost focus. During our third raid on the prison ship the Thanagarins were ready for us. We got ambushed but the other were able to fight back and escape, I was bring up the back with cover fire and made it to the other fence before I got hit."

"An energy blast," Shayera whispered and Vigilante nodded

"I was hit in the thigh full force as I tired to climb the fence. The blast today on our mission was just a glancing hit, but the first hit I took, it tore though my flesh, artery and bone. I laid on the ground bleeding like a son of gun I thought for sure I was a goner. I next thing remember was waking up on cold floor with my leg crudely stitched up and still oozing blood. I was told I'd been out for days. Now you can pretty much do anything to a cowboy and not offend them. But to cage one up, well that's a fate worse than death." Shayera gasped as Vigilante continued.

"There were others in the cells around me. Sir Justin was on my left, Hawk and Dove in the cell to my right, and Flamehawk down past them. At this point the Thanagarins really didn't care to much about us, we were out of their way, and pretty much ignored. We passed the time by talking to each other and trying to come up with plans to escape but there wasn't much of a way to get out and we all knew that. Every night I could hear Flamehawk crying, poor Loraine. Her mother had been killed in raid. Died in her arms."

"As the days passed infection started to set in. It was also around this time that Superman, Wonder Woman, J'onn, Flash, GL, and Batman escaped from you. It was then that the Thanagarians that kept us prisoner started to torture us to get information about the Justice League. The problem was no of us knew where they were hiding. We didn't have information to give. At first they started to torture us one on one, but they didn't think it was effective so they started torturing us together in a group." Tears were falling freely down Shayera's face.

"Oh God," she gasped. "I didn't know I didn't... I knew that my people were driven to succeed on this mission but..." Vigilante looked away but from her but continued on.

"I think the one the was most heart reaching for me to watch was when those hawk people tortured Don, Dove, right in front of Hank, Hawk. If anyone of us had known anything that day, I don't think we'd have been able to hold back. Don was strong, and Hank... well he did what anyone would do when they saw their brother being tortured. He was on his knees begging to take Don's spot. Don didn't wake up for three days after that, and Hank wouldn't speak to any of us any more. Sir Justin lost a couple of his toes during this time, and me it didn't take them too much effort to cause me pain. They ripped open my stitches and retore through the barely healed flesh. I don't remember much after that. I was in and out of consciousness and delirious from the infection. The next thing I remembered was waking up in a military hospital. The infection nearly killed me and they had to piece the bones back together in my thigh. It was at least a month before I could walk again. But I eventually healed." Shayera was horrified and could not stop crying. Vigilante put his arms around her trying to give some comfort to the distraught woman.

"I'm so sorry," She said burying her face into his chest. He held on to her for a few moments as she calmed down.

"Now you see why I didn't want to tell ya. It was very hard to forgive you darlin' because your people put me through hell and back." A few more minutes passed as they sat silently."

"Greg, your forgiveness means more to me than almost anything."

"Well Miss Shayera, you earned it from me. It was about time anyway if the others could forgive you I should have been able to as well." Shayera bent down and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you. You are a great super hero, better than half the men on the watchtower."

"I appreciate that but I wasn't lying when I said I was dog tired."

"Good night Cowboy."

"Night little lady." A weight seemed to lift it's self off of Vigilante's shoulders. He had forgiven the one person he blamed for the war, and that made him feel more like a super hero than ever before. So what if he didn't have super powers, he was a valued and respected member of the of the justice league.


End file.
